


A Picture To Remember

by itsmorethanfine



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, M/M, Seattle, University of Washington campus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-13
Updated: 2014-09-13
Packaged: 2018-02-17 07:09:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2300900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsmorethanfine/pseuds/itsmorethanfine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean finds a hot guy on campus. Only one problem, he's in a photograph. On his phone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Picture To Remember

Dean hadn’t meant to become obsessed like _this_. Hell, he hadn’t ever thought that such a guy would ever come into his life and change it all. Not to mention he was practically a guy from a photograph.

He was actually a guy from a photograph.

A very _beautiful_ guy, but still. He hadn’t even seen the guy in real life, for Pete’s sake.

There he had been, one innocent June afternoon, taking a picture of Mount Rainier from the only spot that it could be seen on his campus. It was a well-known fact that the volcano was only visible around eight times a year, given the incredibly cloudy weather of Seattle. And so, when Dean had seen it on his way from Chemistry to Spanish 101, he couldn’t resist pulling out his phone (a gift from Sam who had insisted that Dean deal with newer technology), and taking a picture of it.

The picture was absolutely beautiful. It wasn’t until later when Dean was looking at it in the privacy of his own bedroom that he saw the guy in the corner of the picture, staring right at him.

To put it bluntly, the guy was hot. Like, _really_ hot. Hotter than Dean had ever imagined guys could ever be. He couldn’t decide whether it was the hair or the eyes or just the general attractiveness of his face. The guy wasn’t even smiling, and Dean still found the need to pull out his phone every ten minutes to gaze at the picture.

He was worse than a fourteen year old girl with a celebrity crush.

Needless to say, he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him since.

Or looking for him around campus, especially on the way from Chem to Spanish. But, he had never seen the guy again. He had even tried to just spend time walking around that area, at different times of the day, different seasons of the year, hoping to run into him again, but it just hadn’t happened. It was almost as if the guy had refused to take that path again.

He tried to push the guy with the piercing blue eyes from his thoughts, as he focused on the now and pulled up his schedule for the new quarter. He’d at least hoped to find the guy before he graduated, but things weren’t looking so bright. It was already his last quarter and in a few months, he’d be gone forever.

He wearily made his way to his first class, Linguistics, refusing to acknowledge the beautiful cherry blossoms that were blooming around him or the way the sun was shining down on the rest of campus, a pretty rare occurrence.  

Maybe, the guy was just incredibly photogenic or something. _But, the light isn’t even that great, not even Dr. Sexy would look that good in such lighting._

Or maybe Dean was just going a little out of his way to find this guy who probably was just a mirage or something.

His class wasn’t too densely packed, which was surprising considering that Linguistics had been a fairly popular topic for most people trying to finish up their graduation requirements. But, he silently made his way to the back of the class, took his seat and sat down, staring at the graffiti on the desk. It was pretty generic and generally uninteresting. There was still about 10 minutes until class was going to start, so he bent down and reached for his phone from the front zip of his worn backpack.

He straightened and was about text Sammy to ask him whether he had grabbed breakfast, when a deep voice interrupted him.

“Hello.”

The phone fell onto the desk with a dull thud, as Dean jumped. He took a deep breath as he steadied himself and turned. 

“ _Dude_ , you should never--” But for some reason, he couldn’t find his voice, as he found himself staring at what seemed like a dream. The guy from the photograph sat next to him, the hair annoyingly familiar and the eyes absolutely unmistakable.

The guy squinted and tilted his head in confusion. It was so adorable, Dean was actually surprised he wasn’t kissing the guy already. Jerking himself back to reality, he licked his lips nervously and smiled.

“H-hey.”

“Hello,” the man repeated, before extending an arm towards him. “I’m Castiel Novak.”

“Uh, nice to meet you. Dean Winchester,” he blushed, taking the hand, before letting it go quickly.

“I know.”

Dean’s mind went blanker. The guy already _knew_?

Castiel smiled at Dean’s reaction. “It’s written on your notebook. I’m sorry to creep you out like that. It wasn’t my intention.”

Dean glanced at his notebook and saw his name written in his own scrawled writing. He chuckled nervously. “I see how you uh, you did that.”

Castiel’s eyes twinkled, before he reached for his bag to get his things out. Dean was finding it harder and harder to keep it together, and his jeans were just getting uncomfortably tight. He shoved a hand on his crotch to hide his boner, trying to get himself to breath.

“So, how come you’re taking Linguistics?” Dean asked awkwardly. He was mostly talking to Castiel’s back, but he found that easier. But, even that was still challenging because he couldn’t un-see the way that tan trench coat fit over his back. Castiel turned back, and his attractiveness hit Dean like a moving truck.

There seemed to be a lack of oxygen in the air again. For whatever reason.

“Oh, I’ve taken numerous language courses here. But, I thought it would be interesting to learn how all languages are linked. It’s also an easy class for graduation.”

Dean gaped. This guy was practically a scholar.

“How many languages do you know?”

“Eight,” he said, confidently. But, it wasn’t arrogant in the slightest. And for some weirdly insane reason, Dean had never found that confidence to be sexier.  

“That’s so cool,” Dean breathed.

“I mean,” Castiel blushed. “I’ve only taken the basics, so it’s not that impressive as a lot of people make it--”

“That’s still amazing.”

Castiel blushed even more intensely. “Thank you, Dean. That is awfully kind of you.”

Dean smiled, but felt the pit in his stomach get a little heavier as the silence weighed down on them. Was he supposed to say something? Or should he just keep his mouth shut? He had asked the first question after all, wasn’t it Castiel’s turn to ask the next question?

He silently tried to get the stupid voice in his head to shut up.

But, to his disappointment, Castiel didn’t say anything at all for the rest of the class. And Dean was just as stupid to even try to make small talk with him. He kept throwing him glances, but each time they made eye contact, Castiel just smiled quickly and looked away.

At long last, the professor finally finished his lecture, assigned them their project for the weekend and left them to pack their things.

It was probably now or never. So, Dean gathered his courage and waited dumbly for a few seconds until the words came to him.

“Hey, Cas?” He froze, as Castiel turned to him, an unreadable expression on his face. What, was he giving the guy _nicknames_ now? He blushed profusely.

“I m-mean, Castiel?”

Cas set down his backpack and tilted his head in confusion again, as he stood in front of Dean. Why was he doing that now? It was already hard to concentrate.

“Yes?” If he was fazed by Dean’s nickname for him, he didn’t show it.

He slowly got to his feet, heart thudding like crazy in his ribcage. “I was wondering, actually hoping whether you’d like to grab some uh, lunch with me? Like, now?”

He was probably going to win the award for the worst way to ask someone out.

Cas didn’t say anything for a few seconds, but then he smiled. “I’d love to, Dean.” He leaned over so that he was only a little bit away from Dean’s face.

Man, the guy’s lips in the picture didn’t do him justice.

“I couldn’t refuse when you look so adorable, all flustered.”

Dean blushed. “But, um, there is something that uh, you should know.”

And every single stupid feeling he’d ever had about having a crush on this guy that he barely knew, every single time that he thought about him, every single time that he’d pulled that phone out  look at Castiel’s face came flooding back to him. And every fiber of his being told him not to do what he was going to.

What if he had a _girlfriend_? Or a _boyfriend_?  

He hadn’t even thought about in the slightest. But, his mouth couldn’t stop talking and before he could stop himself, he was already telling Cas about the picture.

“And yeah. So you’re not really the creepy one. I am. And I totally understand if you don’t want to have lunch with me. I mean you could be seeing someone else. But, basically, I have an awkwardly unrealistic crush on you, so, yeah,” he finished lamely.

The awkward silence from before fell over them again, as Dean gazed at Cas’ face nervously waiting for an answer.

Suddenly, before Dean could register any sign of movement, Castiel’s face was smushed against his, throwing him backward, so that they were both sprawled on the desk. And they were kissing. It was urgent at first, but then it was slower, more passionate and electrifying than Dean had ever experienced in his entire life.

Cas pulled away, his lips flushed from pressing it against Dean’s. “I’m sorry. I was highly excited for our date tonight.”

“Date?” Dean’s stomach flipped with happiness, but he tried to contain his grin.

“Y-yes. I assumed it was a date. I’m sorry,” Cas stammered. He quickly got to his feet, flustered beyond reason.

“ _Cas_ ,” Dean smiled. “I was just kidding.” He pulled himself off the desk and stepped closer to him, trying to ignore the butterflies that were getting stronger. “I’d love to take you out tonight. Especially on a _date_.”

And then, Cas was blushing. It was a very cute look on him, Dean decided. “I’d love to go out with you tonight.”

Dean bit his lip before he leaned over and kissed Cas again. He wasn’t sure he’d ever get tired of kissing him. But, a voice interrupted them.

“Take your love somewhere _else_! This is a _classroom_!” A different professor stood at the door, with his next class right behind him, with expressions of surprise on their faces.

Cas laughed, and before Dean knew it, they were gathering their stuff as quickly as they could. Dean grabbed Cas’ hand and rushed out of the room, giggling like little kids. They didn’t stop running until they reached outside, the cool air a welcome relief to their hot faces.

Dean glanced down, liking the feel of Cas’ hand in his and he grinned.

Cas smiled back, comfortingly. Dean squeezed his hand, as he started down the road. But, Cas stopped him.

“Although I must apologize.”

“For kissing me? Because believe me that was abso--”

“No, Dean. For avoiding you.”

Dean blinked in confusion. “Avoid me? What d-do you mean, Cas?”

“I saw you that day, when you were taking that picture. And since you were so immensely attractive, I couldn’t bring myself to take that path anymore. I don’t really like being flustered. It is not something that I am used to.”

He didn’t say anything, so Cas continued.

“What I’m saying is, maybe you couldn’t find me on campus because I didn’t want to be found, Dean. I hope that’s alright with you.”

Dean took a deep breath, as Cas’ words slowly made sense to him. “And it’s okay that I found you now?”

Cas’ face broke into a huge smile, his mouth digging into the corner of his cheeks. “It is fine, Dean. It is actually more than fine.”

“Good because I’d love to go out to dinner after tonight, too. And I’d rather not spend another eight months searching for you.”

“You won’t have to.”

Dean smiled, as another thought hit him. “You know what I was thinking, dinner is a little too far away.”

“I am aware. Are you suggesting something else?” Cas grinned slyly. Dean just wanted to kiss that smirk right off of his face.

“I was thinking maybe lunch? Now?”

“I would love that. In fact,” Cas added, as an afterthought. “I would love to eat all my meals with you.”

And that was all the consolation Dean needed, before he leaned over and kissed him, actually wiping that smirk off his face. 


End file.
